Country Awards Stuffed to the Gill : Commentary: Vince Gill’s dominance of the show signals a shift in the country community’s perception of itself.

Vince Gill’s dominance of the Country Music Assn. Awards show on Wednesday was more than a personal triumph for the Oklahoma native, who has been steadily building toward this kind of sweep for the past few years.

Insofar as the 7,500-member organization’s awards are a barometer of the Nashville state of mind, Gill’s wins in five of his eight nominated categories, including entertainer of the year, signaled a shift in the country community’s perception of itself. No longer the brash new kid on the block throwing its weight around (symbolized by the intense, provocative Garth Brooks), it now stands as a confident, established presence in pop music. Time to settle down and go about its business.

In elevating Gill, country has put forward a representative with broad appeal. Musically, he’s accessible without being bland, he excels as a singer, guitarist and (usually in collaborations) writer. He’s respected by fellow musicians, and by all accounts is as nice as he seems.

He’s a golf nut and family man who’s not going to stir up controversies, and who sings with hymn-like devotion about deep and enduring love. In hosting Wednesday’s three-hour national telecast and in accepting his trophies, Gill was concise, articulate, humorous and self-effacing.

Where does all this leave Brooks? The ’91 and ’92 entertainer of the year was all but invisible Wednesday, appearing only to perform a song from his new album.

But it could also be a boon for Brooks, whose in-your-face profile and tendency to get tangled up in the superstar hoopla would have inevitably created a serious backlash. Out of the glare, he might be able to focus more on his music and finally make the consistently excellent albums that have eluded him.

Once you got past the acclamation for Gill--whose other awards were for album of the year, song of the year (“I Still Believe in You,” written with John Barlow Jarvis), male vocalist and “vocal event” (a George-Jones-and-everyone-in-Nashville teaming)--it was hard to find a coherent pattern in either the awards.

If last year’s female vocal win by Mary-Chapin Carpenter was a surprise, her repeat on Wednesday was an even bigger one, considering fellow nominee Wynonna Judd’s inarguable status as country music’s most arresting female singer.

Multiple nominee Alan Jackson’s single of the year award for “Chattahoochee,” a nostalgic piece of coming-of-age iconography, was a vote for solid traditional values. But how did he escape the Gill net?

The vocal group (Diamond Rio) and vocal duo (Brooks & Dunn) awards underscored the dismal state of country combos. Mark Chesnutt won the Horizon Award for newcomers, where four tradition-bound male singers competed against the one adventurous choice, Trisha Yearwood.

Ironically, it was the dreaded Billy Ray Cyrus and a couple of old-timers who punctured the show’s tight pace and slick production. As he prepared to present the female vocal award, Cyrus was apparently baffled by conflicting instructions from show officials and audience member Grandma Judd regarding the reading of the nominees, creating an awkward but refreshingly real moment.

George Jones revived memories of the old “No-Show Jones” drinking days when he was named vocal event winner for “I Don’t Need No Rocking Chair.” The song’s many guest-star singers milled around the stage, but where was George? “He’s in the bathroom, really,” his wife repeatedly insisted. Jones didn’t appear, but surfaced later to sing his scheduled song.

And Willie Nelson turned his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame into a free-form forum, leading the audience in singing “Happy Birthday” to Gene Autry and speaking warmly and at great length about his many old pals who should be in the Hall of Fame.

Some traditions, it appears, will never die.